War Stories

Because this week's we observed Veteran's Day, and we would be honoring our veterans who had fought for our country, I posed this assignment to my siblings this week:

As our thoughts are centered on the men who fought for and defended our country this week, write a post with the focus on War.

I have no first hand experience of any kind of war.

The way I have experienced any kind of war is through stories.

And these stories have been told to me through a variety of ways, including books, movies, television shows, news accounts, and conversations with veterans.

Probably my first exposure to war was the television show, "Hogans Heroes", a half hour comedy show about some POW's in a German camp in World War II. I remember laughing with my dad as reruns came on after I got home from school. What an interesting concept for a tv show, showing how crafty the POW's were, and how utterly incompetant the German's at the camp were. Here is a little taste of "Hogan's Heroes".



My next exposure was probably M*A*S*H*, another tv show about a medical unit in the Korean War. The thing I loved about this show, is how it could be both funny and serious and take you through a range of emotions in one episode. This show ran for 11 seasons, and I grew up with Hawkeye, Trapper John, B.J., Radar, Klinger, Father Mulcahy, Charles, Colonel Blake, Colonel Potter, Frank Burns, Hotlips and others who drifted in and out of Korea during those years. I know this show had an impact on my view of war today.

I was in college when the last episode, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" aired, and the "smoker" as our TV room at the TriDelt house was referred to, was packed full of girls that evening to watch the final episode. There wasn't a dry eye in the room as we said goodbye to this show. I can still watch that episode, and tear up. Here are a few highlights on this video. This even made me cry!!